Niall lowered the grand red lion banner, and the spirits of the many banished soldiers he had summoned dispersed.
The Carian Knight had vanished, and he could only gaze at the Glintstone Dragon Adula before him.
"Lunar Princess... is all well with you?" Niall's aged voice emerged from his helmet as he asked uncertainly.
The Glintstone Dragon merely cast him a sidelong glance, white vapor pluming from its nostrils, and made no further move.
Just as Niall was unsure of what to do next, he saw the Glintstone Dragon suddenly lift its head, its vertical pupils fixed on a certain direction. He followed its gaze and, sure enough, saw Niđhöggr.
However, Niđhöggr had not returned alone. Trailing reluctantly behind him was a barefoot, hooded sorceress of Raya Lucaria.
It seemed this female sorcerer had been spying on them, and Niđhöggr had detected her presence and apprehended her.
He simply couldn't understand how a sorceress could be here.
Soon, Niall learned the reason.
It turned out this sorceress was Sellen, the "Heretic Witch" of the Primeval Current from Raya Lucaria Academy, who had been imprisoned for violating the taboo against studying primeval sorcery. She had subsequently regained her freedom thanks to the world-altering changes at Junction.
After that, Sellen dared not return to the academy, now restored to the Carian Royal Family, nor dared she appear anywhere near Junction, having heard that Princess Ranni had returned and that the current lord of Junction was her consort.
Therefore, she sought traces of the two masters of primeval sorcery, hoping to learn from them a way to delve deeper into the primeval arts.
Master Azur was on Mt. Gelmir, and Lusat was in Caelid—the only two clues Sellen had. But today, these two locations were inaccessible from Junction; she could not enter.
Later, Sellen left Junction by boat and arrived on the European continent, living in seclusion for a time.
It was then that Sellen heard of an affliction resembling the Scarlet Rot appearing within the Empire of Yoda. She suspected a spatial rift to Caelid might exist here and, unwilling to give up easily, sailed to the territory of the Empire of Yoda.
What she didn't know was that even if she found a spatial rift here, based on common patterns, a stable rift would likely only lead to Redmane Castle, not all of Caelid.
If it was a permanent spatial rift, she still wouldn't be able to enter the Caelid region, only Redmane Castle.
After encountering Ekzykes and Niall, Niđhöggr wasn't certain what kind of spatial rift existed in the Empire of Yoda.
Was it a permanent rift leading to Redmane Castle, or a temporary rift allowing creatures from all over Caelid to seep into this world?
When Niđhöggr explained this situation to Sellen, she became utterly dejected. She had tossed and turned, and now, not only was she captured, but she had lost her freedom again, and even her last hope had practically vanished.
Niđhöggr glanced strangely at Sellen. His heart suddenly stirred. Although he couldn't see her expression through her hood, her sudden silence seemed to indicate she knew something as well.
Niall knew nothing of Junction or spatial rifts.
He had been trying to survive in the Aeonian Swamp of Caelid, but had only recently been suddenly transported here by a rift, subsequently encountering Ekzykes.
Niall's situation was, in fact, a case of a temporary spatial tear—the kind Niđhöggr faced with enemies appearing from Junction all over the world, symbolizing the growing intersection between Junction and the present world.
Niđhöggr had to briefly describe the entire process of obtaining the Golden Order's hallmark—the Golden Tree—and now the unification of Junction's three territories with the Western Sea.
Niall listened to most of this in silence, but when Niđhöggr conveyed Rennala's thoughts, he was deeply moved, and his voice trembled.
"This... is this true? Lady Rennala truly said that?" Receiving an affirmative answer, Niall burst into a laugh tinged with emotion. "This is truly wonderful! I have in my possession a tool to suppress the Scarlet Rot!"
Niall searched for a long time within the robes beneath his heavy armor, finally producing a golden needle, broken in half.
"It is said that Miquella of the 'Haligtree' created this Unalloyed Gold Needle and implanted it in her own body to suppress the Scarlet Rot that naturally dwelt within her twin sister, Malenia, the 'Goddess of Rot.'"
"That Malenia, when defeated by my sovereign, Lord Radahn, insolently broke this golden needle and took the initiative to bloom into the Scarlet Flower of Rot, infecting Lord Radahn and all of Caelid!"
Niall's voice still seethed with anger as he spoke.
Though Malenia was a demigod, just like his king, he still expressed fury and contempt for her unleashing the Scarlet Rot.
"I obtained it by chance. Although it was broken, it still retained a faint ability to disperse the power of the Scarlet Rot. It is by relying on my war banner and this broken golden needle that I have managed to survive until now."
"To be honest, even if you hadn't come, Niđhöggr, I would still have tried to repair this golden needle, then gone to Lord Radahn and used it to suppress the Rot within him. Perhaps it might help him regain his sanity."
"But suppression by the Unalloyed Gold Needle is merely that—suppression. I was worried about what to do next. I never imagined Lady Rennala's recovery would bring us such an enormous surprise!"
"Quickly! Niđhöggr, let us find the spatial rift here. If it truly leads to Redmane Castle, we can find Lord Radahn and proceed with the plan step by step!"
Niđhöggr was not as optimistic as Niall, nor did he wish to stumble blindly through the Rot-blighted city like a headless fly.
He looked at Sellen, who had remained silent since that moment, and asked, "Sellen, you arrived here a step ahead of me and Niall. Do you know anything?"
Niall was momentarily stunned and also looked at Sellen.
Sellen hadn't expected him to detect her concealed emotions, or for Niđhöggr to see through her so immediately, as if he could already read her hiding places. It seemed this man truly was her natural enemy.
She hesitated for a moment, weighing the pros and cons, then said, "If you promise to let me go afterward, I will tell you where the spatial rift is."
"Wait, you know where the spatial rift is?" Niall exclaimed in surprise. "Have you been there? Then why did you come back here?"
"Because of some damned man named Jerren!" Sellen said with some hatred. "He is a sworn retainer of the Carian Royal Family. He later left with Radahn and is now guarding the entrance."
"That man knew who I was. Adhering to the principles the Carian Royal Family held when they governed Raya Lucaria Academy, he wanted to kill me, one who had violated the taboo."
"I couldn't defeat him, so I had to flee and seek another opportunity. But because I wanted to watch your battle with Ekzykes, you caught me."